Sustainable Living

An average of 25% of single-stream recycling material is too contaminated to actually be recycled, compared to about 7% a decade ago. That’s a troubling trend, and this article does a good job of explaining why.

Fishermen in Madagascar spend several hours a day on their pirogues (fishing canoes) out at sea. In the past, they would return home with baskets brimming with fish. But today, catch sizes have dwindled due to overfishing, rising sea temperatures and extreme weather.

The global fashion industry is booming. In the last 15 years, world clothing production has almost doubled, with more than 300 million people employed along its value chain. However, the growth of this huge industry has come at a significant environmental cost.

Did you know almost 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year globally, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas? We’ve compiled a handful of tips to help you and your Valentine make this year’s celebration a bit greener!

2017 marked the fifth straight year that DaySpring, a Hallmark Greetings business, has achieved “zero waste to landfill” status at their facility in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. They have found alternate ways to process waste generated by DaySpring operations, either by recycling or burning at a waste-to-energy facility.

Engineers at UPS worked with TerraCycle to design and test a first-of-its-kind reusable tote for consumer goods to replace single-use cardboard boxes. The new Loop™ tote is bringing the circular economy to your doorstep.

The company is proud to back global brand ambassador, Lin-Manuel Miranda, as he reprises his role of Alexander Hamilton in a special, limited-run of the award-winning musical Hamilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico, all in support of the arts. Lin-Manuel has committed to donating proceeds from the production and its partnerships to the Flamboyan Arts Fund, in partnership with the Flamboyan Foundation.

The e-commerce era has not only changed how consumers shop, but also how they return unwanted items. Once an afterthought for many retailers, providing a seamless returns experience has become top priority. Crystal Lassiter, Senior Director of Global Sustainability and Environmental Affairs at UPS, and Ann Starodaj, Senior Director of Sustainability at Optoro, will share how they’re combining global logistics expertise and the world’s leading reverse logistics platform to help retailers manage returned and excess inventory.

Even if you haven’t heard of perchlorate, chances are that you probably have eaten it. Perchlorate is a chemical used in plastic packaging and food handling equipment for dry food like cereal, flour, and spices.

What do cork, coffee cups, lettuce, and excessive travel have in common? They are all areas of personal choice that have an environmental impact, and they are all things we will be discussing with our guest today on Sea Change Radio.